Friday the 13th
by Twisteddarkness225
Summary: Not a parody of the Horror movie series. This is a story of Lucy Loud as she enjoys her favorite day. WARNING: OOC Lucy!


**Here's a fun one-shot I started to think up when I realized there would be a Friday the 13th in October this year. It turned out much longer than I wanted and I can certainly say that I enjoyed writing it. So I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading it. But to be fair, I must make sure to notify you:** **LUCY LOUD WILL BE ACTING OOC** **! Just a warning to any fans of hers who won't want to see her acting anyway other than she normally does. And with that out of the way, I now present...**

 **Friday the 13th**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Loud House and make no money from this story.

The sky was overcast that morning, dimming the life-giving light of the sun. The clouds were dark gray, promising rain later that day. A cold wind carried the dead leaves from people's yards and scattered them into the streets. Some leaves still clung to the branches of the trees, dry and no longer lush and green with life. Crows perched themselves on the branches, their cawing breaking the silence of that morning at 1216 Franklin Avenue, but enough so to stir the still sleeping residents of the household. That is, save for one young girl to whom their cries were a welcome change from the normal chirping of bluejays and robins. The moment the young girl heard the cawing of the black birds, she sat up in her bed, an eerie smile creeping across her pale face.

Lucy Loud was an avid follower of the occult and an enthusiast of the macabre. If something was dark, spooky or creepy, then it was something that she liked. She idolized the undead and found fascination in the regular dead. She spoke with spirits, practiced the use of tarot cards and crystal balls, and found both comfort and purpose in the darkness. Her emotions were nearly always a mystery, hidden behind a monotone voice and an apathic face. But that was not the case today.

The young goth got out of bed, her smile growing as she went over to the window and saw how gloomy it was outside. She began to feel excited and her smile grew even more as she started to giggle. The noise roused her roommate and older sister Lynn from her slumber.

"Morning, Luce." She said before yawning groggily. "You're sure in a good mood this morning. What's got you so happy?"

It took a moment for Lynn's mind to process what she had just said. Once it finally did, her eyes widened and she sat bolt upright in her bed. She felt a knot forming in her stomach as she pieced together the most likely reason for her little sister's out of ordinary behavior. And as if to confirm her suspicions, Lucy hopped onto Lynn's bed and began to bounce happily as she giggled.

"Why am I in such a good mood? Here's a hint. Guess what day it is, Lynn-Lynn!"

"Lynn-Lynn?!" the jock repeated. "You only ever call me that..."

"On Friday the Thirteenth!" Lucy joyously exclaimed. "And today is an extra special one too! It's Friday the Thirteenth of October! It's extra unlucky today and there won't be another Friday the thirteenth in October until the year 2023! I've got a big day of fun ahead of me! There's so much chaos and misfortune to cause that I can hardly wait!"

Lucy hopped off of Lynn's bed and squealed in excitement, doing a little twirl. Lynn felt the knot in her gut tighten and she managed to force a convincing smile. The athletic girl got up and out of bed and stepped towards her younger sibling.

"Hey, Luce? Could I ask you a favor?"

"Yes, Lynn-Lynn?" Lucy replied in a sickeningly sweet voice that made Lynn shudder.

"Your big sister has an important game this afternoon."

"Silly Lynn-Lynn." Lucy interrupted, " _Every_ game you play is important."

"That's right! And you know how much your big sister loves to win. So I was wondering if you could take all the bad luck you want to cause today and keep it away from my school's soccer field? As in really, REALLY far away? Pretty please with dark fudge, bat-shaped sprinkles and a black cherry on top?"

"Okie-dokie!" Lucy said without a moment's hesitation. "Anything for you, Lynn-Lynn!"

Lucy hugged her older sister tightly, nuzzling her cheek against Lynn's. The jock endured the duration of the embrace, feeling a bit creeped out by the goth's uncharacteristic levels of affection. Once the hug was over with, Lynn offered to go start the shower for Lucy. She set the water to Lucy's preferred temperature. Not too warm, but not cold either. It was something that Lucy referred to as 'the temperature of a dead body as it begins to lose the warmth of life'. And with the shower now ready for Lucy, Lynn stood guard outside the bathroom door. Within the next minute Lucy exited their bedroom, wearing a dreary, gray bathrobe, and skipped over towards the bathroom. She gave Lynn another quick hug and went inside to begin her shower. Lynn remained at her post to ensure that none of the other Loud siblings would try to bother Lucy. It was best to prevent anything from upsetting her on a day like today. Unless one wished to earn the chaos and misfortune that Lucy wished to create. It didn't matter who crossed her, anybody who was nearby could find themselves just as likely to end up a victim as well. And Lynn wasn't taking any chances.

The bedroom door to Lynn's right opened and Lori stepped out. The blonde girl saw her younger sister blocking the bathroom door and scowled immediately. Lynn already knew what to expect and locked eyes with the oldest Loud sibling, determined to stand her ground.

"Whatever you have to do in there, you had better be quick. An that goes double for whoever is in the shower. I've literally got to hurry and get ready. I'm meeting up with my friends for coffee before school and I need to be there soon!"

"Lucy is the one showering and you might want to let her take her time. Or do you not know what day today is?"

"What today is? What does that matter?"

"Check your calendar."

Lori held up her phone and looked at the date. The moment she saw it, her pupils narrowed to pinpoints and she laughed nervously. She slowly backed away from the bathroom door, as though any sudden moves she made would make it open and result in utter catastrophe. She went to the staircase and turned slowly to descend it, sparing a moment to address Lynn again.

"So while Lucy enjoys her shower, I'll go and start making breakfast for her. Are her favorites still blackened eggs, burnt bacon and extra dark toast?"

Lynn nodded. "And don't forget the blood orange Greek yogurt. And to put lots of ketchup on her eggs."

Lori nodded and rushed down to the kitchen to get started. Lynn decided that she should tell Lucy that their older sister was making all of her favorites. In addition to preventing things that would upset her, it was equally necessary to do any little thing to make her day as good as it could get. The better Lucy's mood was, the easier the rest of the Loud House could get through the day. Luckily, Lucy was fairly easy to please. She seldomly wanted anything and even when she did, it was hardly anything difficult. So it would be easy to keep Lucy content, so long as everyone kept in mind what day it was.

"Lynn-Lynn?"

Lynn jumped in surprise. She felt a bit foolish for letting Lucy sneak up on her yet again, especially since she had known where the girl was the entire time. But at least she knew that it amused her little sister to sneak up on people, even if she didn't normally show it. Although today, Lynn's reaction got the spooky girl to giggle.

"Sorry big sister." she said in her sickeningly sweet voice. "I'm all done washing up now. Can you help me with my hair?"

"Uhh...sure?" Lynn replied somewhat uncertainly.

Lucy led Lynn into the bathroom and handed her a hairbrush. Lynn took a good look at her younger sister's ebony locks. She wasn't really sure what she was supposed to be doing. It wasn't as though she had never used a brush before. She brushed her own hair after she showered daily. But that didn't change the fact that Lola or Leni would have been better choices. Lynn hardly understood the concept of using hair conditioner, let alone anything along the lines of hairspray, mousse, or other hair care products. But if Lucy wanted her to do it, then she would. It was a good thing that Lucy never wanted to do anything fancy with her hair, otherwise Lynn might have been in trouble.

"Okay sis, hold still."

Lynn started to brush Lucy's hair, taking care to not be as rough as she would be with her own. Each time she ran the brush through the dark strands, Lynn paid close attention to Lucy, ready to stop if she caused her even the slightest bit of discomfort. But Lucy only hummed happily throughout the brushing, and gave Lynn another hug once she had finished. The athletic girl breathed a sigh of relief as Lucy went back to their bedroom to start getting ready for the day. Meanwhile, she would take advantage of the now available bathroom.

"Lynn!"

Scratch that. It seemed that Lori needed to pester her for something. With a mild groan of frustration, Lynn left the bathroom and went to the top of the stairs, keeping her eyes on the bathroom just to be safe. If she took her eyes off of it for even a second, one of her other siblings would steal her turn. So she watched out for them, ready to dash if she had to. Whatever Lori wanted hopefully wouldn't require her to have to go downstairs.

"Yeah, Lori?" Lynn called.

"I can't find the yogurt, is there another flavor that she likes?"

"You sure it isn't there?"

"I literally checked the whole fridge!"

"Did you look behind the purple stuff?"

"Purple stuff?" Lori echoed. "You mean that gunk that Lisa put in the fridge that looks like gross Gel-O?"

"Yeah, check behind it."

A moment of silence and then Lori called back up, confirming that she had found one. Lynn relaxed, beginning to feel more confident with how the day was going. It was starting to look like she had been worried over nothing. And once Lucy was off to do as she pleased throughout the day, Lynn would be in the clear. Then it was just a matter of getting through the school day and heading straight to the soccer field to pass time until the pre-game warm up and then playing the game itself. Once her team won, and they would, they would head out to celebrate. This would be one Friday the Thirteenth that she would be able to enjoy without any problems at all. Not with how good things were going to be for Lucy.

Lynn turned back towards the bathroom, ready to freshen up for the day ahead. However, she had to stop immediately upon seeing that there was now a line where no one had been standing mere moments ago. Leni had just gone inside while Luna and Luan were standing by the now closed door, patiently awaiting their turns. The sports lover muttered a quiet 'dang it' but said nothing more as she took a place in line behind her older sisters. She was willing to put up with this little bit of bad luck rather than risk stirring up any trouble.

The morning progressed and the rest of the Loud family awoke and went about preparing for the day. Mrs. Loud tended to Lily while her husband took over cooking breakfast for the rest of the family once Lori had finished with making Lucy's special meal. And while Lynn Sr. was busy making enough food for the other eleven family members, Rita fed their youngest child a mushy bowl of oatmeal. The mother tried in earnest to get the infant to eat, but Lily's playfulness resulted in a good deal of the food coating her bib, the tray of her high chair, and her face. This was due to the baby girl's decision to try and feed herself by hand instead of allowing her mother to provide her with one spoonful at a time. Between the two of them, nearly half of the food was successfully consumed, leaving the rest to be cleaned up by Rita.

"Okay messy girl, don't move." the mother said, starting to wipe away the oatmeal collected around Lily's mouth. "It's a good thing that Mommy is used to this, or a certain rugrat just might have made her go crazy."

Lily giggled and tried to take the napkin from her mother, wanting to yet again try to do something for herself. Rita allowed this, finding the girl's attempts adorable. She still took care of what the baby missed, which was pretty much all of it, and then picked her up from the high chair.

"Alright, Sweetie, you can play for a little while until your big sisters and brother have eaten their breakfasts. Here, you can use these." Rita said as she set down a cooking pot and gave a pair of spoons to Lily. "Now you can drive Daddy crazy for a while."

"Too late for that, Honey. I'm already there." Lynn Sr. retorted, earing both a smirk and an eye roll from his wife.

Rita left the kitchen and went over to the stairs so she could call down the rest of her children for breakfast. She found that Lucy was already on her way down, the young goth dressed in her usual black dress but with a few changes to the rest of her look. Her usual stripped leggings were replaced with black ones that had a white spider web pattern on them. She wore a hairband with a black bow on the right side, a silver chain with a spider shaped pendant around her neck, and a while belt with a black buckle around her waist. Black lipstick had been applied to her lips and she had matching nail polish as well, completing the unique and dark image.

"Oh, look at you!" Rita gushed, adoration for her child in her eyes. "My beautiful fallen angel! Could I get a few pictures of you before you head out today?"

"Okay!" Lucy replied, giving her mother a quick hug as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "Do you want one of me with you and Daddy?"

"Of course I would! We'll take it after you eat your breakfast. So hurry along now before it gets cold."

Lucy proceeded into the dining room and then into the kitchen. Lily was busily making a racket with her spoons and cooking pot, giggling as she watched her father dance in place to the noise while he also tended to the large number of meals he was preparing. The scene the two made brought a wide smile to Lucy's face and she approached her baby sister, kneeling down next to her.

"Hi there, cutie!"

Lily ceased her noise making and looked up at her older sister in silent awe. She was young and many of the things in the world were a mystery to her. But she was able to tell when something wasn't normal in her family. And the sight of Lucy with such a happy expression on her face was definitely not normal. It was actually a little scary for the infant. So she did the only thing that she thought made sense. She took the two spoons in her tiny hands and held them up in the shape of the cross. However, the holy symbol did not have the desired affect of banishing the unnatural entity before her. It only gave Lucy reason to giggle at her.

"You're silly."

Lucy kissed Lily's forehead and she then went to hug her father. Lily shuddered from the experience, but shook it off once Lucy had gone into the dining room with her breakfast to eat. The other Loud children began to join her and sit down to eat their own meals. Lucy ate her meal at a steady pace s Luan and Leni took their seats, sitting a few spots away. Luna also took her seat by the other two, still leaving empty places at the table nearest the eight year old. Each of the older sisters would take brief peeks up at her, all of them wary due to the date. But Lucy paid them no mind, she just kept happily devouring her meal one bite at a time.

Around the time Lucy had worked her way through half of the food on her plate, Lana entered the dining room with Lola right behind her. The older twin saw Lucy and immediately froze like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck. As a result, Lola bumped into her, bopping her nose against the back of Lana's head. The pink-wearing blonde recoiled and rubbed the sore spot that was her cute, button nose while glaring angrily at her mud-loving sibling.

"LANA!" Lola barked. "Watch it! If my nose starts getting swollen, then so help me I'll...Lana? Are you listening to me? Lana!"

Lola stepped in front of her twin, snapping her fingers in front of the other girl's face. Lana blinked and shook her head, but remained frozen in place with her gaze returning immediately to Lucy. Lola's little outburst had gained the goth's attention, which only served to add to Lana's discomfort. Lucy smiled and waved at her younger sisters. Lana in turn bolted out of the room with a cowardly cry and then sought sanctuary beneath the couch in the living room. The collective sisters in the room all watched the display with mild surprise, Lola shaking her head afterwards.

"Pathetic." She said without a trace of concern for her twin's odd behavior. "And now I have to listen to her whine about being hungry later on when we're at school because she skipped breakfast. Just. Great."

"Why isn't Lana going to eat breakfast?" Lucy questioned, oblivious to the reason behind Lana's actions. "Is she feeling okay?"

"Oh, she's fine." Lola answered, taking a seat by Lucy. "Except I believe a _certain someone_ made her lose her appetite."

"Yeah, you were kind of mean to her just now. You should tell her that you're sorry."

"Me?!" Lola asked indignantly. "I'm not the one who's being extra creepy today! And another thing! It's not fair that you get to skip school today just because it's Friday the Thirteenth! It's not even an actual holiday!"

The room went deathly quiet. Leni, Luan and Luna all exchanged quick looks. Lucy's face was devoid of expression again, her bang-covered eyes on Lola. As the silence continued over the next few seconds, each of the teenagers grew steadily more and more nervous. Luan, moving slowly, leaned over so she could whisper to Luna.

"Should we tell Lola that the reasone Lucy doesn't go to school on Friday the Thirteenth is because the faculty is afraid of her?"

"What? Dude, no!" Luna whispered back. "If Luce finds out about that, it might upset her! And you know what happens if she gets upset on a day like today!"

"Well, like, we should do something!" Leni joined in quietly. "Because Lola might be the one who makes Lucy upset! And she's really good at upsetting people!"

"I heard that!" Lola spat, taking a moment to glare at the trio before returning her gaze to Lucy. "And you! If you got something to say, then hurry up and spit it out!"

Lola's outburst made Lucy lift her head up a little, as though the blonde's words had physically struck her. The three older sisters sat petrified as the awaited for Lucy to react. The goth's head tilted to the side slightly and then Leni, Luna and Luan all ducked down, but kept their line of sight above the table. They knew that they had to be ready for whatever was to come next.

"Lola." Lucy began, her tone surprisingly calm. "You seem cranky. Is it because you're having a bad hair day?"

"Bad hair day?" Lola repeated. "I'm not having a bad hair day! My hair is just the way I want it!"

"Oh? So you want to have that cowlick? I guess it's cute, it almost looks like Lincoln's turkey-tail."

Lola's eyes went wide. She took out her compact mirror and opened it to take a look for herself. And there it was, an unsightly little tuft of golden strands sticking out awkwardly right behind her ear. The girl let out a startled gasp and she dashed out of the room and straight up the stairs. A moment later the sound of Lincoln letting out a startled cry of his own could be heard.

"Oh come on!" he protested. "It was finally my turn to use the bathroom! And I really have to pee!"

"Well stop drinking so many juice boxes before you go to bed!" Lola countered before slamming the bathroom door.

Back down in the dining room, Leni, Luna and Luan all let out a sigh of relief. They sat back up and returned to enjoying their meals. Lucy finished her own plate and then opened her yogurt. As she began to enjoy it, Lisa rushed in with a pen and notepad in her hands. The brilliant youngster spotted Lucy at the table and went over to sit next to her.

"Greetings Lucy. And how are you this morning?"

"I'm doing pretty good. How are you, Lisa?"

"Quite satisfactory, thank you for asking. But I am curious to know as to whether or not any interesting occurrances have taken place since you suspended your REM sleep. I couldn't help but observe that Lana is cowering beneath the living room furnishings and there was also Lola's recent outburst as well. Please tell me what I have missed and don't omit even the slightest detail."

Lucy giggled. "Nothing happened, you silly! Lola is just upset because her hair is messy. And Lana... well, I think Lana is just hiding from Lola."

"Ah, I see. Well that is mildly disappointing, but the day has only just begun. However, you _do_ seem to be exhibiting a more jovial mood than is the norm for a Friday that coincides with the thirteenth day of the month. I wonder if that may also mean that the strange phenomenons that occur will be more potent than on any previous Friday the Thirteenth"

Lucy shrugged, her smile still on her face, and she finished her yogurt. She excused herself from the table and went into the kitchen with her dirty dishes so she could put them into the sink. Lisa followed, keeping a close eye on her older sister, in case any of the aforementioned phenomenons should happen. Lucy's smile grew, finding the fact that Lisa was observing her so closely amusing. Enough so that Lucy decided to see just how long Lisa would keep it up. It worked out nicely since there was something that she needed to do anyhow.

Heading back out of the kitchen and through the dining room, Lucy led Lisa into the living room. As she walked, she hummed 'Following the Leader' to herself, adding to her own amusement. Upon entering the living room, Lucy took a brief look around before heading to the couch. She knelt down and peeked underneath, seeing frightened pair of eyes peering back at her.

"Hi Lana! Have you seen Cliff?"

Lana's response was to shriek with fear and scramble out from her hiding place as fast as she could, heading for the safety of her own bed upstairs.

"Hmm, I guess not." Lucy thought aloud. "Oh well, he's got to be around here somewhere."

She got up and resumed her search for the family's pet cat. As she moved onto the next possible location where she might find him, Lisa began to scribble down notes while mumbling her observations to herself.

"Lana is still displaying a strong, and well understood, fear of Lucy. Whereas Lucy seems to harbor no ill will towards Lana for her transgressions which occurred on the Friday the Thirteenth that took place in the month of January, this year."

"Oh, is that why Lana is being so silly today?" Lucy asked, letting out another giggle. "I forgave her for that ages ago!"

"Well it would seem that she is ignorant of that fact. Perhaps we should locate her so that you may inform her?"

"Maybe. But only if she'll stay still long enough to let me. I want to make sure that I find Cliff soon or I won't have as much time for my walk today."

Lisa paused a moment to ponder. "Taking Cliff's favorite locations within the household into account, I'd strongly recommend checking the basement. He's highly fond of nestling himself in the baskets of laundry."

"The basement? I LOVE the basement!" Lucy exclaimed. "Let's go!"

The uncharacteristically cheery goth eagerly made her way to the stairs leading down into the basement. Lisa followed, making additional notes on Lucy's behavior as she went. And just as Lisa had said, Cliff was indeed curled up atop a basket of assorted articles of clothing. He took notice of the two girls and let out a yawn before getting up and stretching.

"Found you! Lucy giggled, reaching out to pet him, which he accepted eagerly with a purr. "Are you ready for our big day out? We got a lot to do and see!"

Cliff let out an indifferent 'meow', as if to say 'sure, why not?' He jumped down onto the floor and followed Lucy as she and Lisa went back upstairs. Once back in the kitchen, Lucy gathered a bottle of water, a sandwich bag and two small, plastic bowls. She put some dry cat food into the sandwich bag and then stored them into her backpack in place of her usual school items. Next she got a small, black harness with a leash for Cliff and set it along with her backpack by the front door.

"I take it that you plan on departing soon." Lisa observed. "An earlier start than usual?"

"Yup. I want to enjoy as much of today as possible. So Cliff and me will be going just as soon as Mommy takes some pictures of us. Would you like to be in one?"

Lisa took a moment to consider the offer before shrugging. "I suppose there's no reason for me to decline, so very well. But before you initiate your planned outing, would you mind if I made an alteration to one of your accessories?"

"Alteration?" Lucy repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Here, allow me to show you." Lisa answered, taking a tiny object from her pocket. "This is a nano-cam. It is a miniscule video recording device that can be mounted onto nearly any solid surface. It is also waterproof, shock-resistant and capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, not that those should be of any concern. But let's return to the purpose of the nano-cam. I wish to, with your permission, afix it onto the bow of your headband. That was I will have recorded data of everything that transpires from now until later today, when you have returned home and I will be home from Kindergarten."

"Oh, okay. But if you want, instead we can see if you can just come along with me. That way you can see everything that happens."

"And while that is very tempting, I must refrain from doing so. I refuse to let my perfect attendance at school be marred by even a single absence, especilly one that is intentonal."

"If you're sure." Lucy said, taking off her headband to hand it to Lisa.

"I am, thank you."

Lisa attached her nano-cam to the bow and then returned the headband to Lucy. Lucy put it back on and then Lisa fished a small case out of her pocket. She opened it, revealing two contact lenses that were blood red in color.

"You'll also be required to wear these." Lisa told her sister.

"I do? What are they for?" Lucy asked, tilting her head slightly.

"They work with the nano-cam." the young genius explained. "They are linked so that whatever the wearer of the lenses, being you, looks upon is what the nano-cam will focus onto. That way, I will get visual data of everything that you perceive while out and about for the duration of the day. I aslo had then tinted a shade of red that seemed would be to your liking."

"Aw, thank you Lisa! I love them! Is it okay if I keep them even after you get back your camera?"

Lisa smiled a little. She had anticipated that Lucy would ask that and nodded in consent. Lucy hugged her in thanks and then took out the contact lenses, managing to get them on with minimal effort. However, they made little difference as Lucy's bangs still concealed her eyes from the view of others.

"Alright then. Now let's just perform a quick test to ensure that they work." Lisa said, picking up a tablet from where she had left it on a nearby end table. "Please look at the family portrait sitting atop the mantle."

Lucy did as requested and looked at the photo. Lisa then had her turn to face the window, followed by the couch, the t.v. and finally back to the portrait. She nodded, satisfied with the results of the test and returned her attention to her older sister.

"Splendid. Everything seems to be functioning properly. So long as you are looking directly at something, the nano-cam will also focus upon it. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. This will assuredly help me make considerable progress in my research on your peculiar behavior and the seemingly inexplicable, and unfortunate occurrences which take place on a Friday the Thirteenth."

"Or..." Lucy began, her smile widening a bit. "I could just tell you how it works."

"You know?" Lisa asked, her eyes widening, the pupils dilating in excitement. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! I must know this!"

Lucy leaned forward, bringing her lips close to Lisa's ear. "It's magic."

Lisa's excitement quickly diminished as an unamused look came to her face.

"Ah, I see. You're just teasing me. Is that it?"

Lucy giggled. "I'm your big sister, silly. I'm _supposed_ to tease you. At least sometimes anyway."

"So I take it that you don't know what causes the strange phenomenons, which you refer to as 'bad luck'?"

"Nope! Not really. Maybe it is just bad luck. Or dark magic. Or maybe a spirit is following me around all day, causing mischief for me to watch. All I know is that it's so much fun!"

Lisa felt a chill run up her spine. Lucy's cheerful demeanor was really beginning to unsettle the usually calm and collected genius. Her enthusiasm at the thought of something causing misfortune, and even claiming to enjoy it, was enough to have that affect on almost anybody. Save for their mother, who fortunately had just entered the room. Lisa nearly gave into the urge to run over to her mother for safety, but proudly resisted. It wouldn't have done much good anyway as she was on her way over to see Lucy with her phone in her hand.

"Okay my spooky little poltergeist, time for those pictures." Rita said. "Look up at me and say 'Banshees'!"

"Banshees!" Lucy repeated, standing still as Rita took a couple pictures.

"Oh, that's perfect! Such a beautiful little lady!" Rita said affectionately. "Now, how about one with you and Cliff?"

"Okay! And then one with me and Lisa!" Lucy chirped.

Rita couldn't help but smile. Lucy eagerly pulled Cliff into her lap, somewhat to the cat's chagrin, for the next picture. After which there was a similar experience with Lucy pulling Lisa into her lap. Then Lisa took her mother's phone so that she could take a photo of Lucy with both Rita and Lynn Sr. Lisa noted that while both her mother and sister's smiles were genuine, her father on the other hand seemed a touch tense. The moment they were done, he excused himself to go and start washing the dishes, heading back into the kitchen in a bit of a hurry.

"Better to do them now than to save them for later!" he said. "I'll see you later, Lucy! Have a good day and don't cause too much trouble."

"I won't, Daddy!" Lucy called to him. "But no promises!" She added, somewhat jokingly.

Lucy got Cliff situated in his harness and attached the leash to it. The cat wasn't entirely too pleased with it, but he was willing to just put up with it. If it meant getting to be out and about on a day like this, it was worth it. Black cats did have reputation, and he wasn't shy about living up to it. There was something that was oh so satisfying about seeing humans trying to keep away from him while Lucy walked him down the street. And sometimes if a human happened to have a dog with them, that dog would also scamper away to make room for him. Now _that_ was empowering.

A minute later, Lucy had everything she needed for their big day. In addition to the food and water for Cliff, she also had some water and a sandwich for herself, a snack consisting of animal crackers and a jar of raspberry jam (to dip them into), and a little spending money should she need it. And with all of it packed away into her bag, she was ready to get going. She gently led Cliff along on his leash as she opened the front door and stepped outside, stopping to look up and admire the sky.

"Look at all of the pretty, gray clouds! I don't think we'll be seeing a single ray of sunshine today. It might even rain. Hmm, should we go get an umbrella, just in case?"

Cliff sniffed at the air for a moment. His animal instincts told him that is most likely wouldn't rain, but previous excursions with Lucy on Friday the Thirteenth had proven that the unexpected could happen around the girl. So it would be a good idea for her to grab one anyway. Besides, she could always just open it should they go inside of a store or something. She'd enjoy that.

Turning around, Cliff began walking back towards the house. But the unexpected feel of a sudden tug on the leash stopped him before he could get too far. Then there was another tug, pulling him backwards. For some reason, Lucy wasn't heading for the house. Instead, she was making her way over to the sidewalk. She paused to give another tug on the leash, calling his name. Cliff joined her and she crouched down to inspect the sidewalk.

"There aren't any cracks." she told him. "There used to be lots of them. Did someone have the sidewalk redone since January? It's kinda funny how I never noticed that until now. Isn't it?"

Cliff didn't really care whether or not the sidewalk had any cracks. So it wasn't exactly something that he would pay attention to, even on the rare occasions where he ventured out beyond the boundaries of the front yard. But knowing Lucy, she was going to try and do something about it. And whatever that something was, it was bound to be interesting.

Lucy went back to the front door of the house and opened it, leaving Cliff on the front porch. She went inside and spotted her twin sisters eating breakfast at the table. Both of them had come downstairs after Lucy had first left just a couple minute ago. Mostly due to Lana's reluctant behavior to do so until their gothic sister was out of sight. Not the two blondes were enjoying their meals, both unaware that Lucy was approaching them.

"So...do you want to play Princess Tower after school?" Lola asked her twin. "I got Linky to agree to be the evil troll again. I just need a brave knight."

"Sure!" Lana piped after shoveling one of her deviled eggs into her mouth. "But let's make the tower even _bigger_ this time!"

"EW! Lana! No talking with your mouth full! It's gross!"

"Lola has a point, you know." Lucy said, startling them both.

"Ahh! Lucy!" Lana screamed, leaping out of her seat and coweing behind Lola. "Don't hurt me! Take Lola! She deserves to be punished!"

"Wow. Really, Lana?" Lola deadpanned, briefly looking at the other blonde before turning to face Lucy. "Do you need something?"

"Yup! I was hoping to ask Lana a favor."

Lola grinned wickedly. "Is that all? Well then, she's all yours!"

Lana suddenly found herself being grabbed and pushed in front of Lucy. She silently wished she had just ran out of the room like she had done earlier. Lola's hands were gripping her shoulders and she could also feel her knees wobbling. And with Lucy directly in front of her, she wasn't even sure if an escape would be possible. All she could do was close her eyes and cover her face in fear.

"Lana." Lucy's voice called out softly. "You don't have to be scared. I'm not going to hurt you."

"You aren't?" Lana asked timidly, opening one eye to look at Lucy. "But...what about what happened last Friday the Thirteenth?"

"What about it?" Lucy asked in return. "That was back in January, silly! I only wanted to know if I could borrow your toy jackhammer, pretty please?"

"Oh, uh...sure. It's in the garage."

Lucy thanked her and gave her a little kiss on the cheek. She then went out to the garage to retrieve the desired tool, leaving Lana to cringe and wipe the spot where Lucy had kissed her, as though her life depended on it. Once she was satisfied, she resumed eating her food. At least she tried to, but she noticed that Lola was staring at her a bit incredulously.

'What?" Lana asked.

"First of all, you have a toy jackhammer? Why would you have a toy jackhammer?"

"Why wouldn't I have one? And it's not really a toy. It's real, just sort of kid-sized."

"Okay, whatever. But more importantly, why are you being such a chicken around Lucy? She isn't even doing anything! Aside of being extra creepy, that is."

"Because of what happened last Friday the Thirteenth! You should remember. You were there!"

\- January 13th 2017 -

 _Lola entered the living room with a tray of cookies and a glass of milk. It was time for her favorite cartoon show and she had managed to claim the remote that evening before any of her siblings could do the same. Now it was simply a matter of making herself comfortable in front of the t.v. and enjoying herself._

 _"LANA!" Shrieked a malicious voice._

 _The sudden noise startled Lola. The milk and cookies went flying as she jumped from the unexpected surprise. She looked around and found the source to be Lucy. The pale girl was towering over a trembling Lana in the dining room. On the floor beside them was Lana's pogo stick and Lucy's bust of Edwin the vampire._

 **"You hurt Edwin! He could have gotten a concussion! You had better watch your back, little sister! Because I'll be paying special attention to you every Friday the Thirteenth from now on!"**

\- Present Day -

"Oh, that's right. You were playing on your pogo stick inside the house and accidentally knocked over her 'boyfriend'." Lola said, making air quotes. "But I still don't see why you're being such a scaredy-cat. If she wanted revenge, she would have gotten it back then."

"Um, hello? She _did_ get me back then! The whole room suddenly went dark. Then my head started to hurt and when I could see again, the walls were bleeding!"

Lola slapped her forehead. "For the love of glitter! You know that isn't what happened! One, the lights went out because Luna caused a power surge. Two, your head was hurting because when the lights went out, you panicked and ran into a wall. Which is why, three, you saw the walls 'bleeding'. It was your own blood, from the nosebleed that you gave yourself!"

Lana scoffed. "Whatever. I know that Lucy was responsible for it. But at least I don't have to worry anymore, since it looks like she forgave me. Still, I wonder what she needs Jaqueline for."

"Jaqueline? Who are you talking abou...? Of course you named it. Why am I not surprised?" Lola asked.

The two heard a ruckus coming from outside. The sound of Lucy using Lana's jackhammer quickly made the twins' curiosity get the better of them. They ran over to the nearest window facing the front yard and looked out. From there, they saw Lucy busily working her way across the sidewalk in front of their house with the borrowed tool. She wasn't sticking to any one place in particular, only remaining focused on one spot long enough to make some shallow cracks in the concrete and then move on. By the time she was finished, the entire length of the street-side pathway was riddled with cracks from one side of the yard to the other.

Lana let out a low whistle. "Okay, that was impressive. I didn't think she could handle Jaqueline so well!"

"You were scared silly of her not even five minutes ago! And now you're admiring her? I will never understand you." Lola stated.

"Why's that?" Asked Lucy.

The twins both screamed and jumped in surprise. They found Lucy behind them with Lana's jackhammer. They did a double take from where they had just seen her outside to where she was currently standing. Needless to say that they were both confused.

"How do you even do that?!" Lola demanded.

"Do what?" Lucy innocently asked in return.

"You know what? Nevermind." Lola sighed. "But at least tell us why you were messing up the sidewalk just now."

Lucy giggled. " ~Don't step on a crack, or you'll break your mother's back.~" she sing-songed. "Get it?"

"Oh!" the twins said together. "Yeah, we get it!"

"Good..." Lucy said, leaning forward a little and putting her hands onto their shoulders. "Because I don't want _anyone_ in our family putting so much as one little toe over any of the cracks I just made. Understood?"

Lola and Lana nodded with nervous smiles on their faces. Lucy seemed satisfied and went to exit the house again. Once she was out of sight, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think I may have tinkled a little." Lola confessed.

"I know that I did." Lana admitted, letting her head hang a little out of shame.

The two went to head upstairs, passing by their brother on the way. Lincoln rushed into the kitchen to grab his breakfast sandwich from his father. Once he had his meat to go, he ran over to the front door and left the house. He spotted Lucy as she was heading off, playing an odd version of hopscotch with the cracks that she had made in the sidewalk. She giggled and hummed as she slowly progressed over the many cracks with Cliff at her side. The cat however had elected to walk on the grass instead and Lincoln followed suit. He caught up to his sister just as she was getting past the driveway.

"Hey Luce! Wait up!"

Lucy paused for her brother, resuming her walk with him falling into step beside her. Lincoln moved from the grass onto the sidewalk once they had gotten past the last of the cracks. Then he moved onto Lucy's other side, not wanting to trip over Cliff's leash.

"Would you want to walk with me to school? I know you don't have to go today. But since you're already headed in the same direction..."

"I'd love to walk with you, big brother!" Lucy cheerfully cut in. "Would you like to take Cliff's leash for a bit?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess I can do that." Lincoln said, taking Cliff's leash from her. "So, what do you bring him along for? Do you have him cross people's paths or something?"

"Uh-huh! Pretty much. But lots of people try to get away before that happens. So it's kinda like a game!"

"Riiight." Lincoln said a bit awkwardly, his eyes darting around to try and find something to change the subject. "Oh hey, it's Mr. Grouse. Hi Mr. Grouse!"

Lucy turned her attention to their next door neighbor's house. Mr. Grouse was standing on his front step and scowling at the sight of Cliff strolling across his lawn.

"Hey Loud! Keep your cat out of my yard!"

"Hi Mr. Grouse!" Lucy greeted with a wave. "Happy Friday the Thirteenth!"

The elderly man blanched at the sound of her words. He had forgotten the date entirely. And now that he had been reminded of it, he also reminded himself to watch his step around Lucy Loud. At least until he could get away. Far, far away.

"Well hello there, Lucy! And a happy Friday the Thirteenth to you as well!" he said with a nervous smile. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a very important appointment to get to. Speaking of which, there's my ride!"

Mr. Grouse ran to the street and in front of a moving car. The driver, a young man just entering his twenties, saw him and slammed on the brakes. Once he came to a stop, he honked the horn in anger at the old man. Mr. Grouse paid no mind and ran over to the driver's door. The young man rolled down the window, giving Mr. Grouse an angry glare.

"Hey! What's wrong with you?! I almost ran you over!"

"Sorry about that." Mr. Grouse replied. "But I need a favor. I gotta get out of town for the day. Could ya give me a lift?"

"Does this look like an Oo-bur or Dryft car too you?"

"I don't have time to try and understand your hip, young lingo!" Mr. Grouse snapped. "Just get me anywhere over the town line and I'll give ya fifty bucks!"

"...Okay, hop in."

Mr. Grouse quickly got into the passenger's side of the car. The car then drove off, leaving the two children and cat behind. Lucy waved as they left and then resumed walking, Lincoln following a moment later. He thought to ask her about what had just happened, but then he thought better of it. If Lucy didn't mind that people would run from her, then he wouldn't bother arguing the point. Even if the idea did bug him a bit.

The rest of their walk went without incident. That is, if one ignored the fact that anyone else on the sidewalk would try to get across the street when they saw them coming. Lincoln was grateful when the school grounds came into view and there were other people around again. He started to look through the mass of other children to find his friends, handing Cliff's leash back to Lucy.

"I'll see you later Lucy. Enjoy your day!"

"I will! You too, big brother!"

Lucy waved as he left to go and join with Clyde, Liam and Rusty. she turned to head out herself, but she stopped when she saw a familiar face from her own grade. A familiar face with freckles and a head of curly, red hair.

"It's Rocky." She whispered to herself, a light blush coming to her cheeks. "We should go say 'hi'. C'mon Cliff."

With her feline cohort following, Lucy walked over to see the boy. As she got close enough, she tapped him on the shoulder to gain his attention. Rocky turned to face her and his face quickly turned redder than his hair. Lucy felt her own blush return as she noted that he was admiring her current attire.

"Hi Rocky."

"H-Hi Lucy." He said, a shy smile on his face. "You...you look nice today."

"Thanks. Happy Friday the Thirteenth."

"Huh? Oh, right. You too...I guess. Is that why you brought a black cat to school today? I didn't think they'd allow that."

"They don't. I was given the day off. Kinda like a personal holiday. I'm taking Cliff for a nice, long walk. He's my fellow agent of bad luck."

"Cool. So, I guess that you wouldn't be able to join me for lunch today."

Lucy's smile fell. "Well...no, I guess I wouldn't. But, we could eat lunch together on Monday!"

"Okay, sounds like a plan. So, want to walk with me to the door?"

Rocky held out his hand. Lucy happily took it and the two began to make their way towards the entrance of the school. The goth could feel a warm, fuzzy feeling spreading through her the longer she held Rocky's hand. But it didn't last as there was a sudden interruption to their moment together.

"Hey! You two! No hand holding!" Barked an authoritative voice.

The school principal rode up in his golf cart, parking it on the street just in front of the walkway to the school's front entrance. He hopped out and approached the two children, a stern look on his face. A look that soon enough faded and was quickly replaced with one of surprise. He smiled nervously as a cold bead of sweat ran down his face.

"M-Miss Loud! W-What a pleasant surprise!" He stammered out. "You've been given the day off! There's no need for you to be here!"

"I know. I was just walking with Rocky."

"Well that's a very nice gesture. But I'm afraid that you'll need to be going, my dear. You...can't have a pet on school grounds! Yes, that's it. And Mr. Spokes really should be on his way to his classroom. Feel free to take a moment to say farewell, if you like."

Lucy nodded and turned her attention back to Rocky. Huggins quietly slipped away and went back to his golf cart. He breathed a sigh of relief as he reached it and grabbed a bottle of water from it's cup-holder. He removed the cap and guzzled down the cool liquid a bit before splashing a little onto his face. As he hoped, doing so did calm his nerves a bit. He didn't need any more stress than his job already provided. Seeing Lucy Loud on the one school day he was willing to let her have off had been quite a shock. But just so long as she went on her way and put as much distance between herself and the school as she could, then he wouldn't have to worry about...

"Principal Huggins?"

Huggins cried out in surprise and stumbled forward, falling into the driver's side of his cart. He scrambled back up onto his feet and found Lucy right behind him. The urge to scold her came up and he suppressed it, not wanting to test his luck. Instead he forced a smile, trying to make it look as sincere as he could.

"Miss Loud, you startled me! He said with a faux chuckle. "Did you need something?"

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for brining Cliff into the schoolyard. I didn't know that it was against the rules."

"That's quite alright, Miss Loud. Just please keep it in mind from now on. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to be heading to my office. Good day to you."

He began heading for the school at a brisk clip. After he managed to get a few feet away, he began to relax again. It looked like he was in the clear. For a moment there, he had really been worried.

"Principal Huggins?" Called Lucy.

"Oh no." Huggins whimpered to himself, feeling his anxiety return. "Just ignore her and maybe she'll leave. Just ignore her and maybe she'll leave."

"Wait, Principal Huggins!" Lucy shouted, starting to follow him.

"I-I'm sorry, Miss Loud. But I can't chat anymore right now. I have a very important call to make. The superintendant is expecting to hear from me and I musn't make her wait!"

"But your golf cart is rolling down the street!"

Principal Huggins froze in his tracks, his eyes going wide. "My what is going where?!"

Spinning around, he looked and found that his cart was in fact not where he had left it, but instead rolling away. And the street began to slope downwards a bit too, allowing the runaway golf cart to pick up speed. It was soon much too far away to try and catch it on foot, but he tried to nonetheless. Lucy watched as he tried in vain to stop his vehicle, but only succeeded in running out of breath as it rolled through a four-way intersection. Cars at the intersection were forced to swerve out of the way to avoid a collision, their drivers honking their horns repeatedly. Then, finally, the golf cart came to a stop as it struck the back of a car-carrying trailer truck.

"Well, that was fun to watch." Lucy said to Cliff. "So, where should we head to now? I'm thinking Flip's Food and Fuel. How's that sound?"

Cliff meowed. Lucy took that as a 'yes' and she began to head down the road. They walked by the spot where the crash had happened after a couple minutes. By that time, Principal Huggins had managed to reach the location and found himself dealing with a tall, barrel-chested, and very irate man who had been driving the trailer. Said driver was raising his voice and using words that Lucy knew she should never use herself. She proceeded past the scene, paying no attention at all to the angry man and his foul language.

A short while later, Lucy and Cliff arrived at Flip's Food and Fuel. The entered the small establishment, finding it almost completely empty. The only other person in there at the moment was the owner, Flip. He looked up from the newspaper he was reading and frowned as he saw the cat that had just been brought into his store.

Lucy, oblivious to the look that Flip was casting in her direction, began to slowly browse through the selection of items being sold. She stopped at a display of umbrellas sitting in a large, plastic bin and giggled to herself. Finding a small, black umbrella, she picked it up and looked down at Cliff.

"Silly us. We forgot to grab an umbrella from home! Oh well, there's no harm in having an extra one, is there?"

She turned to continue browsing, but found Flip standing in her way. The man was glaring down at her disapproving ly, his hands on his hips. But his sour expression wasn't enough to keep Lucy from smiling up at him in greeting.

"Hi Mr. Flip!"

"Hi nothing, little, creepy girl." He said before pointing to Cliff. "You can't have that mangy, fleabag in here! I don't allow filthy animals in my store!"

Cliff hissed at Flip. He did not care for the way he had just been insulted. Lucy didn't care for the man's rudeness either. Her smile faltered a bit, but then returned full force, an eerie chill filling the room.

"If that's true, then why are _you_ in her, Mr. Flip?" She asked sweetly.

"Did you just sass me?!" Flip asked, appalled.

"Yup!"

The store owner's face reddened with anger. He crossed his arms and glowered at the young girl in front of him. And Lucy only kept smiling back at him in response.

"I don't have to stand for this!" Flip spat. "Both you and that fish-breathed, hairball machine can take a hike! OUT!"

Lucy shurgged. "If you say so. Oh, and before I forget. We didn't pay for this. So here, catch."

She tossed the umbrella she had been holding up into the air. Flip fumbled with it as he tried to grab it, accidentally hitting the button on the handle. The umbrella opened up and Flip glared down at Lucy again.

"Hey! You can't be throwing other people's things around, kid!"

"And you shouldn't be opening umbrella's indoors." Lucy replied. "That's bad luck."

"I'll show you 'bad luck' you stupid, little brat!" Flip exclaimed, shaking his fist in anger. "Get the heck out of here before I give ya what you have coming to ya!"

He thrust his arm out, pointing towards the door. Unknown to him however, the very same door was currently wide open. Another person had come into the store, and he had managed to catch the last thing that Flip has said.

"Are you threatening that little girl?" The man asked, his voice gruff.

"Mind your own business bud...ah...ah...Officer! Good morning!"

Flip's anger had given way to uneasyness. The police officer, a tall man with broad shoulders, short, dark hair and stubble on his chin, walked over to where Flip and Lucy were standing. Lucy, who recognized him, waved and smiled as he got closer.

"Hi Officer Grimes!"

"Hello Lucy. Happy Friday the Thirteenth." Grimes said, taking a moment to smile back at her. "And to you too, Cliff."

Cliff gave a respectful nod to the officer, who reached down to pat him on the head. Officer Grimes then returned his full attention to Flip. He gave the other man an unamused look and crossed his arms.

"Care to explain what exactly it was that I just walked in on?"

Flip let out a nervous laugh. "It's all just a misunderstanding. I was simply asking this sweet, little lady to take her adorable pet back outside. Only service animals are allowed in the store."

Grimes looked down at Lucy again. "Is that true, Lucy?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes. But he was being pretty mean about it. He called Cliff a mangy, fleabag."

"Well that wasn't nice of him, was it? But I'm afraid that rules are still rules. You need to bring Cliff outside, okay? And if you wanted to get something, then how about I buy it for you? How's that sound?"

"Could I have a Flippee? Please and thank you?"

"Yes you certainly can. Black cherry flavored?"

"Yup!" Lucy said with a nod and a smile. "I'll go wait outside with Cliff."

The goth and the cat exited the store, leaving Flip alone with Officer Grimes. Flip cleared his throat, his uneasy feeling persisting.

"So then, you'll be buying one Flippee." Flip said, his voice a bit nervous. "Is there anything else that I can help you with, Officer?"

"Actually yes, there is." Grimes said. "I've heard from a few different people that they bought some scratch tickets from you. Tickets that apparently were already scratched by someone else and then painted over. Any ideas as to what that is all about?"

Flip swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat. "Heh, what can I say? They must've been defective."

Officer Grimes raised one of his eyebrows, giving the other man an incredulous look. It was obvious to Flip that he wasn't buying it. He saw the officer gesture to the umbrella in his hand, which he had somehow forgotten about.

"You might want to close that while we're indoors. It is Friday the Thirteenth, after all."

Meanwhile, Lucy stood outside with Cliff. The cat had begun occupying himself by swatting at a bug that happened to be crawling by. Lucy watched the sight with amusement until the door to the store opened and Officer Grimes stepped out. He had a hot coffee in one hand and and ice-cold Flippee in the other. He held the cold treat out to Lucy, which she eagerly accepted.

"Thank you!"

"You're very welcome. Now you two enjoy your day and make sure to be careful when crossing the street, alright?"

"Okie-dokie!" Lucy chirped. "Bye Officer Grimes!"

She waved as he got into his cruiser and he waved back. Lucy waited for him to pull away before she and Cliff returned to their walk around Royal Woods. As they wandered aimlessly, Lucy slowly sipped away at her black cherry Flippee, savoring every ounce until it was gone.

The majority of the morning passed by without too many other occurrences of interest. There were plenty of little things that did happen, much to Lucy's enjoyment. Once such incident involved a man riding by on his bike. The front tire popped and he then ended up swerving into some thorn-bushes. Another one involved a couple sitting at an outdoor table at a cafe. Their waiter brought over a fresh pot of coffee to offer them refills and tripped on a chair leg, spilling the scalding beverage onto the lap of the young man at the table. And lastly, Lucy witnessed a businesswoman in high heels heading for her car that was parked on the side of the street. One of the heels of her shoes broke and the woman fell forward. In order to prevent herself from face-planting on her own car, the woman thrust her arms out to catch herself. However, this resulted in her losing hold of her car keys, which fell into a sewer grate.

"Lots of people are having bad luck today." Lucy commented to Cliff. "Isn't it neat to see how many different things can go wrong, Cliff?"

Cliff offered a 'meow' in agreement. Today had been quite satisfying so far. Humans were such wonderful entertainment sometimes. But he was starting to grow bored with seeing the two-legged creatures suffer their various misfortunes. There was something else he was becoming more interested in. He began to brush against Lucy's leg, purring softly. Lucy smiled and reached down to scratch him behind the ears.

"Is it lunch time? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

Another 'meow' confirmed Lucy's suspicions. And she was starting to feel a little bit hungry herself. So she began heading for Ketcham Park. There was an old, gnarled tree there that Lucy liked to read under. It would also make for a suitable place for the two of them to enjoy their lunch.

As Lucy and Cliff arrived at the park, the clouds overhead were beginning to slowly darken. The chilly breeze that had been occurring seldomly throughout the morning developed into a slightly stronger, somewhat more frequent wind. But the small change in the weather didn't bother Lucy one bit. In fact, she was loving it. She led Cliff over to her favorite tree and the two settled down for their meal.

"Here you go. Yummy cat food and water." Lucy said, setting down two bowls for Cliff. She then took out her own food and water, sitting with her back against the trunk of the tree. "And a deviled ham and cheese sandwich for me!"

Lucy took a bite of her sandwich. As she ate, she looked at the other people who were at the park, hoping that perhaps something of interest may happen. But nothing did. Regardless, she continued to eat, just enjoying the gloomy weather with Cliff by her side. The cat finished his food and lapped up some of the water from his other bowl. Then he curled up beside Lucy, letting out a yawn. His eyes closed and he was soon asleep. Lucy gently patted his back, starting to watch him sleep for a bit. She was starting to feel a little drowsy herself. It was probably a good idea to get up and go soon, otherwise she'd nod off too. Hopefully Cliff wouldn't be too cranky if she woke him.

A sudden noise caught Lucy's attention. It was the sound of a crow cawing. Looking up, she saw the bird perched on a low branch of the tree. It cawed again, looking down at her.

"Hi there. You're a handsome birdie, aren't you?" She greeted, reaching down for her bag. "Are you hungry?"

She fished out the box of animal crackers and opened it. Taking one out, she broke off it's head and tossed it onto the grass nearby. The crow swooped down instantly and began pecking at the severed animal cracker head. Lucy heard more cawing and looked up to see a couple more crows sitting on the tree's branches.

"Oh, you have friends. Are you hungry too? I've got plenty to go around."

Grabbing more crackers, Lucy snapped off their heads and limbs to create smaller pieces for the newcomers. She tossed them out and watched as they joined the first one on the grass. As she continued to feed the dark birds, others came to join, resulting in a full dozen in addition to the original. By this time, the noise of them all had roused Cliff, who was watching them as well. He had no interest in attacking them though. Aside of the fact that it would be disrespectful to Walt for him to do so, Cliff was also well aware of how easily messing with birds could backfire. There had been enough cartoons on the t.v. on Saturday mornings that he had seen to know that much. Not to mention that he was quite outnumbered by the feathered creatures.

Suddenly, an elongated spheroid projectile flew in and struck the ground near all of the crows. They scattered, flying up and shortly after regrouping in the branches of the gnarled tree. Two burly boys ran over to retrieve it, both of whom were wearing Hazeltucky Hawker's jerseys.

"There's the ball!" Said one, who had a brown mullet and a dirty face. "It got some good distance! Nice one, Woim!"

"Yeah, bet you wish you could kick that good, huh, Butch?" Woim, the other boy with tan skin and dark hair replied.

"Just shut up and grab the ball!" Butch snapped.

The two moved in closer and Lucy picked up the football so she could hand it to them. But as they got close enough, the two gave her a dirty look for some reason. Woim ran up to her and rudely grabbed the ball out of her hands.

"Give me that! Don't take things that aren't yours, kid!" he spat.

"I was just trying to give it back to you." Lucy said. "Why would I want your football?"

"Yeah, why would a dumb girl want it?" Woim mocked.

"Girls suck at football!" Butch added, high-fiving his friend.

"That's not true. My big sister plays junior football." Lucy informed the two. "In fact, she played against the Hazeltucky Hawkers just last year!"

"She probably still sucks at it!" Butch said. "Now just get lost already! Shouldn't you be in school or something?"

"Shouldn't _you_ be in school?" Lucy countered.

"We ditched. What's it to ya? You gonna get on our case for being in your stupid town next?"

"Hey...hold on a second." Woim said. "I just remembered something! Didn't we tackle some dumb girl at a game against the stupid Royal Woods Roosters back then?"

"Oh yeah! She went down really easy!" Butch said with a laugh. "And then she wimped out and stopped playing!"

Lucy's jaw dropped in a silent gasp. " _You_ were the ones who tackled her! She didn't wimp out, you twisted her ankle! She couldn't play any sports for weeks!"

"Aw, did that make her cry?" Woim asked, still in a mocking tone.

"Serves her right for trying to play a man's sport!" Butch commented. "She just stick to tea parties or knitting or whatever dumb crap girls like to do!"

With each sentence the two boys spoke, Lucy was disliking them more and more. She could feel herself becoming angry and clenched her fists. Butch took notice of this and stepped up to her, narrowing his eyes and grinning cockily.

"Something wrong? Does that upset you, girlie? You want to do something about it?"

Lucy slowly took a deep breath, not wanting to let her anger get the better of her. Especially not if if meant letting these two get what they wanted. She smiled, albeit falsely, and turned to gather her things.

"It doesn't matter if I do want to do something about it. You aren't worth the effort."

The disgruntled looks on their faces satisfied Lucy. She picked up the box of animal crackers to put it away, but Butch snatched it from her. He waved it back in forth in front of her a bit, as if to taunt her. Bu again, Lucy didn't let it get to her. Not that it stopped him from trying.

"Aw, look. _Animal crackers_. Do you wike dem wittle girl?"

Lucy shrugged. "I'm eight years old. So yeah, I like them."

Butch dumped the remaining crackers in the box out onto the ground. "Oops!"

"Whatever." Lucy said nonchalantly. "I wasn't eating them anyway."

"Oh? Then you won't mind if I do this!"

He began to stomp on the crackers, crushing them into bits. Woim joined in, the two laughing triumphantly. Lucy didn't see what the big deal was. All they were doing was making a mess. It wasn't really anything to be bothered with.

The crows however, were very much interested in what was happening.

One of the birds fluttered down to the ground, daring to try and venture forth for some of the food. Other's followed suit, joining the first in it's endeavors. This soon caught the attention of Woim, who began to feel a little scared. He didn't like how close the birds were getting. And more were showing up too, making a whole score of them. And all of them had their eyes on him and his friend.

"Uh...Butch?" The black haired boy said, tapping the other boy on the shoulder.

"What?"

"B-Birds!" Woim squeaked out.

"The heck are you...? _HOLY SCHMOLY!_ That's a lot of birds!"

"I know! And more are showing up! There's a whole stinking flock of them!"

"Actually..." Lucy interrupted. "A group of crows is called a murder. That's because in the old days, people believed that the appearance of a group of crows or ravens was an omen of death. Which does make sense since crows have been though to gather around places where people or animals were expected to soon die. It's funny though, there weren't nearly as many of them here until the two of you showed up. I wonder why?"

The two boys gulped audibly. They stood back to back, warily watching the crows. One of them perched itself on Lucy's shoulder, cawing in their direction. Lucy reached up and gently brushed the feathered breast of the bird, which it allowed without objection.

"Anyway, I need to be going now. It wasn't nice chatting with you. Bye!"

Lucy turned to leave, the crow on her shoulder flapping it's wings and relocating itself atop Woim's head. The boy whined softly, feeling the bird's talons digging into his scalp a little. Butch went to step closer to Lucy, but he hesitated due to the birds that were nearby. So instead he cautiously extended his arm, trying to get Lucy's attention as she began to walk away.

"Wait! Don't go yet! We take back what we said! All of it! Just make your birds back off!"

"My birds?" Lucy repeated with a giggle. "They aren't my birds. They won't listen to me."

"W-Well, what are we supposed to do?!" Woim whimpered.

"Good question." Lucy said before shrugging. "But I have no idea. Good luck with that! Bye-bye!"

Lucy left, taking her bag and Cliff along with her. She heard the two boys sniffling as she began to depart, but the noise was soon drowned out by the cawing of the crows. Lucy almost felt a little bad leaving them there like that, but she was sure they'd be fine. So long as they didn't do anything stupid... Okay, Lucy acknowledged that there _might_ be a chance they'd be in trouble. But all the same, she wasn't going to turn back. Big, tough boys like them could handle themselves.

As she exited the park, Lucy pondered what she should do next. It was barely past noon and too soon in her opinion to be heading home already. After a minute she decided that there was no better way for her to wrap up her and Cliff's outing than to take a nice, leisurely stroll through Royal Woods Cemetery. It was a bit of a walk to get there, but it would be worth it. A trip there always was.

The walk there was uneventful for the most part. But that was fine, because the moment Lucy stepped onto that somber ground, she didn't have a care in the world. There was something about cemeteries that gave her a sense of belonging. Perhaps it was the fact that they were quiet places that seemed creepy to many. Or perhaps it was because she aspired to run her own funeral home one day. Either way, she absolutely loved being there.

Lucy began to saunter along a path which she had set into her memory. It would take her past each and every gravestone in the cemetery, winding from one side to the other and back again. With each step she took, she also took a moment to admire her surroundings. She became so enrapt with them, that before she knew it, she had reached the far back side of the cemetery. And while she would've loved to go back and retrace each and every step, she knew that it was better to take the more direct route out. It was time to be heading home for now. She could return any other day at her convenience.

Following the old, paved pathway, Lucy began her return to the cemetery's entrance. She hummed softly as she proceeded, looking up at the vast sea of gray clouds overhead. Cliff meowed loudly and pushed his head against her leg, trying to get her attention. Lucy looked down at him when he repeated his actions, only this time nipping at her leg a little.

"Ow! Hey! What's that for?"

Lucy stopped and frowned at her feline companion. Cliff, now having her undivided attention, gestured to the pathway in front of them by lifting one of his front paws as if pointing to something. Lucy looked at what he was trying to show her and saw the problem immediately.

"Gasp. There's a bunch of cracks up ahead! If I had kept walking without paying attention, I could have ended up stepping on any one of them! Thanks Cliff, I owe you a treat when we get home."

Cliff meowed appreciatively. He went to move forward again, but soon found himself restrained by the leash. Curious as to what the hold up could be, he looked to Lucy and saw that the girl was staring down at the ground. She stepped up to one of the cracks in the pathway and knelt down, the gaze of her hidden eyes locked on that one spot.

"I don't believe it." She whispered. "Cliff, do you know what this is?"

From what Cliff could see, there was just some bits of green grass peeking up through the cracks. Nothing special. But Lucy reached out and plucked something out of the cluster of grass blades, holding it out to let him get a closer look. It turned out it wasn't a blade of grass, but was some sort of tiny plant with four little leaves.

"Can you believe that we found a four-leaf clover on Friday the Thirteenth?" Lucy asked. "I can't even imagine what the odds are! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

If he were to be honest, Cliff was thinking that the sooner they got going, the sooner he could get the treat he had been promised. But since he knew that Lucy would interpret what he said however she pleased, he doubted that she'd know that. All the same, he meowed in response, choosing to humor her.

"Yup! We should give this to Lynn-Lynn! She'd love it! Especially with her important game today!"

That worked for Cliff. They would head home so Lucy could see her sister. He could get his treat, scratch the furniture a bit and then go back down into the basement to curl up in the laundry again. It would be a good way to end good day.

Lucy, eager to get home, was moving at a slightly quicker pace than usual. She couldn't wait to give the good luck charm to her older sister. School was just about to end for the day if she wasn't mistaken. So if she kept going at this rate, she could possibly even bump into Lynn as she was walking home. Not that it mattered, really. She just wanted to make sure that Lynn got the clover before her big game.

Soon enough, Lucy and Cliff made it onto Franklin Avenue and were only a block or so away from the house. As they got closer, Lucy saw her older sisters Luna and Luan ahead of her. The two were right in front of the house, on the sidewalk. They were moving really slowly too, taking each step with caution. It didn't take long for Lucy to figure out what was going on. They were trying to avoid all of the cracks that she had made in the sidewalk that morning. And from the front porch, Lana and Lola were watching the two teens like hawks, ensuring that they minded their steps.

"Luan!" Lola barked. "Watch it! You almost touched that one!"

"Watch your left foot, Luna!" Lana added.

"I'm trying, little dudette!" Luna replied.

"Just where did all of these come from anyway?" Luan queried.

"I made them." Lucy piped up, surprising all four of her sisters.

Lucy's sudden appearance caused both Luna and Luan to lose their balance as they were both mid-step. They tried to grab onto each other to stop themselves from falling. But this had the opposite of their desired goal and both brunettes went down. But they were able to land onto the lawn, avoiding making contact with any of the cracks with their feet or any other bodypart for that matter. Upon realizing this, Luna pumped her fist into the air, her pinkie and index fingers fully extended, in triumph.

"Yes! Made it!"

Luan on the other hand, seemed a touch confused as well as agitated.

"Hold on, why didn't we just walk on the lawn in the first place?"

Luna's eyes widened in realization and she slapped herself on the forehead. "Dang it!"

Lucy giggled at the two. "You guys are funny. Do either of you know if Lynn-Lynn is home yet?"

"Sorry little sis, no idea." Luna said.

"I actually saw her just before I left school." Luan said, getting back onto her feet. "She said she was going to stay there until her game started. Said it made more sense than going home only to come back again later."

"Oh, okay! Thanks Luan!" Lucy said, holding out Cliff's leash to the older girl. "Could you bring Cliff inside and give him a treat? I need to go."

Luan nodded and took Cliff from Lucy, who turned around and made her way back up the street. It would still be a little while before Lynn's game was supposed to start. So Lucy wasn't concerned with whether or not she'd get there before then. And despite the fact that she knew that she made a promise to stay away from the soccer field, she believed Lynn had mean that for during the game, not before. Besides, she was confident that Lynn wouldn't mind after she had gotten the clover. Lucy could hardly wait to see the look she'd have on her face when she saw it!

Royal Woods Middle School came into Lucy's line of sight. She quickly made her way to the field out behind it, spotting many girls in red and white team uniforms. Lucy moved in closed, identifying Lynn easily out of the group. The athletic Loud was facing the rest of her team, talking to them. She must've been giving them a pep talk. Lucy didn't want to interrupt her, but she could still listen in.

Lucy crept closer, heading towards the other girls. Lynn's back was facing her, leaving her oblivious to her sister's approach. The sound of Lynn's voice was carrying across the field. She was talking about something pretty passionately. And as Lucy took each step closer, she could hear Lynn more clearly.

"...and that's not even the weirdest thing about her! She's suddenly all smiles and giggles! Every other day of the year she'd be quiet and gloomy, but for some reason that has to change today! Lucy is creepy enough as it is, but seeing her be that creepy is just too much! I'm actually happy that I don't go to the same school as her, because I can't stand being around her when she's like that! And speaking of school, she isn't allowed to go to her own because she freaks out the teachers with all of the bad luck she causes! But who wouldn't be freaked out by someone like my creepy little sister, am I right?"

Lynn's question was met with silence. At first she thought that her teammates were just taking in everything she had just said, but a few of them were starting to look nervous. Then those same few started to whisper to the others and they also began to look a bit unsettled. It wasn't until Margo stepped forward that Lynn finally got an explanation as to what was going on.

"Uh, Lynn? You might want to turn around."

"What for?" Lynn asked.

Margo gingerly pointed behind Lynn. Lynn turned to see what the big deal was and she saw Lucy not even three feet away. The athletic teen let out a shriek and stumbled back, falling onto her rear. Lucy stepped forward, an unamused look on her face. When she got closer to her sister, she crouched down next to her. Lynn wanted to try and scoot back, but she froze when she noticed the twin trails of tears that were running down her little sister's cheeks.

"Don't worry." Lucy said in her normal monotone. "I'll be leaving soon. I only stopped by to give you this."

Lucy grabbed Lynn's wrist and tugged it towards her. Lynn felt Lucy place something into her hand and then Lucy let go. The goth stood up and turned to leave. But just before she started to move, she looked back down at Lynn, the angle providing her with a glimpse of Lucy's eyes. The cold glare from those red, tearful eyes was like a punch to the jock's gut.

"You hold onto that. You'll need it to ward off the bad luck your freak of a little sister might cause you."

And with that, Lucy took off. As her sister ran away, Lynn got back onto her feet. She looked at the tiny thing that Lucy had given her and felt a stone of guilt sitting in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes went from the four-leaf clover to her sister's retreating form and back, the feeling she had growing worse. Lynn gave into it and then ran after Lucy, tucking the clover into her pocket.

"Lucy, wait!" she called out.

For a moment, Lucy did slow down. Almost to a stop. But then she resumed running. Lynn took advantage of that moment, using her well honed leg muscles to make a considerable decrease in the distance between them. And with her superior speed, it was no challenge at all to catch up before Lucy could get too much further.

"I said wait!" Lynn shouted, putting in the effort for one last burst of speed when she was just a few yards away from her sister, tackling her to the ground. "Would you just listen to me?!"

"I did." Lucy coldly replied. "I heard what you said and I didn't like it. Now get off of me!"

"No! Please, just hear me out! I can explain!"

"Explain what? That you think that I'm so creepy that I should be avoided like the plague? I already knew that you thought I was creepy, I just never knew how strongly you felt about it."

Lynn sighed and moved off of Lucy, sitting on the ground beside her. Lucy went to get up and leave, but Lynn grabbed her hand. Her sister was gripping her tightly, refusing to let go even when Lucy tugged to free herself. She looked Lynn in the eyes and she could tell that the other girl was adamant about saying her piece.

"Fine. Just don't expect me to believe you if you tell me that you didn't mean what you said before."

Lucy sat back down beside Lynn, feeling her let go of her hand. Lynn looked down at the grass, thinking over her words carefully before she spoke.

"I won't tell you that. That would be lying to you. The truth is, you are creepy. And you do freak me out sometimes. But you're still my little sister. It doesn't matter how creepy or freaky you can be. That doesn't mean that I don't care about you."

"Do you always talk about the people you care about behind their backs?"

Lynn winced a little. "Okay, I deserved that. I shouldn't have been doing that and I'm sorry. I promise not to do it anymore, okay? From now on, if there's something about you that bothers me, I'll just come out and tell you directly."

"Gee, thanks." Lucy said, a touch sarcastically. "It's good to know that you'll be telling me anytime you think there's something wrong about me."

"Please don't be like that!" Lynn groaned. "It isn't that I think that there's anything wrong with you. You're just...different. And it can be a bit of a pain to deal with sometimes. I feel like I can't understand you and it really bothers me. And...it makes me worry about you too."

"Why? What is it that you don't understand about me?"

"Well, let's start with the big one. What is it about Friday the Thirteenth that makes you suddenly so happy all day long?"

"I just wake up in a really good mood." Lucy answered. "Maybe it's because Friday the Thirteenth isn't set into any particular month. So it seems more special to me because of that. There can even be more than one a year. Plus I like to see all the bad luck that happens."

"Riiight." Lynn said, raising one eyebrow questioningly. "And why is that?"

"You should know that one. I have a dark sense of humor."

"Hmm, fair enough." Lynn said with a shrug.

"Is...is there anything else you want to know?"

Lynn thought for a moment. "Okay, this one I _have_ to know. Do you really cause bad luck on purpose? Or does it just happen?"

"It just happens. I definitely know that I don't do it. Unless I'm somehow doing it without knowing."

"I hope not! That would be ultra-creepy!" Lynn said with a shudder. "No offense."

"None taken. I actually consider creepy to be a compliment. Just like when people say that I'm a source of bad luck. I find it flattering that someone believes that I can cause misfortune just by being around them. You...you don't think that it's bad for me to like that, do you?"

Lynn hesitated. That was a tough one for her. By all rights, she knew that it was beyond weird to know that Lucy liked taking credit for causing bad luck. But did that mean that made Lucy a bad person? She really wanted to say 'no'. But part of her was just too unsure of what to think. In all fairness though, it wasn't exactly something she'd normally think about.

"Honestly, Luce, I have no idea. Maybe it is and maybe it isn't. I guess it just depends on what's going on. But I can say this much. There is definitely a line. So just don't get too excited if something really bad happens, okay? No giggling over someone needing an ambulance or anything like that."

"Okay. That's reasonable." Lucy said, a tiny smile returning to her face. "So, can I ask you something now?"

"Sure thing. Shoot."

"Do you still think that I'm bad luck?"

The athlete grinned and threw her arm around her younger sister's shoulders. She pulled Lucy in close and squeezed her tight.

"Nah, I don't think so. Maybe Lisa's right and every time something weird happens, it's just a coincidence that you happen to be there. But who cares? Like I just told you, you're my little sister and nothing will stop me from caring about you."

Lucy giggle and returned the hug. "So, does that mean that I can come to watch your game today?"

"You got it! You're already here, so why not? And I won't even have to worry about bad luck. Not with the...uh-oh..."

"Uh-oh?" Lucy echoed. "What do you mean uh-oh?"

"I can't find the four-leaf clover that you gave me!" Lynn said, digging through the pocket in which she had placed it. "I must've lost it when I was trying to catch you. Dang it!"

Lynn started to search the grass around them for the clover. She kept her head low, scanning through the green blades meticulously. With each passing sexond, she started to look more frantically for the lost good luck charm. Meanwhile, Lucy was unable to contain herself as she watched Lynn and started to giggle mirthfully.

"What? What's so funny?" Lynn demanded, sitting upright and placing her hands on her hips.

"You...you _lost_ a four-leaf clover!" Lucy managed to say between giggles. "That's really unlucky!"

She continued giggling, crossing her arms over her stomach to brace herself. At first Lynn just stared at her, but then a smile broke out on her face as well. A small laugh escaped her, then another and another. Lynn was soon laughing just as heartily as her sister, the search for the clover abandoned.

A distant rumble of thunder sounded. Both of the girls stopped laughing when they heard it. Then a drop of rain landed on the tip of Lucy's nose. Several more followed over the next few seconds, a heavy downpour suddenly drenching them.

The girls cried out as they were soaked instantly to the bone. They got to their feet and started to run towards the school. The rain was heavy, a cold and fierce wind struck them as they ran and they each even slipped and fell into the fresh mud once or twice. But regardless of all that, they kept laughing the entire time they ran.

-Epilogue-

Lynn ruffled her wet hair with her towel. A hot shower after being caught out in the pouring rain was just what she needed. Her game had been canceled due to the weather, so she and Lucy had to call for a ride home. Once back inside, they had discarded their soaked clothes and taken separate showers, Lynn allowing Lucy to go first.

Draping the towel over her shoulders, Lynn headed for her room. Lucy was in there already, curled up on her bed wearing he sleepwear and holding an old book in her hands. She looked up at Lynn as the older girl entered, smiling up at her. Lynn walked over to Lucy's bed and took a seat next to her.

"Whatcha reading there, Spooky?"

"It's an old book that Pop-Pop got for me a few years ago. I like to look at it every now and again."

Lynn took a closer look at the book. "It looks more like someone's diary, if you ask me."

"Well, technically it is. Pop-Pop bought it at a garage sale. From a friend of his who lives in California."

"He bought you someone's old diary as a gift?" Lynn asked in disbelief.

"It's actually more interesting than you think. Pop-Pop's friend Dolores told him it's filled with her son's notes on magic and other stuff. He's pretty much obsessed with it. Also, he was born on a Friday the Thirteenth. In May. Kinda cool, right?"

Lynn shrugged. "I guess. So, would it be okay if I looked at your book? I'm a little curious about it now."

Lucy gaped at Lynn for a moment, but then she happily handed the book over. Lynn flipped through the pages, seeing lots of writing that could only be described as chicken scratch. There were also various doodles of what Lynn guessed were magic-related things, mostly objects that had faces or oddly colored animals. When she was done browsing through the contents, she flipped back to the title page just inside of the cover, reading the text out loud.

"The Study and Pursuit of Magical Creatures. By Denzel Q. Crocker."

The end?

 **Okay, so as always honest opinions and constructive criticism are welcome. I had a lot of fun with this one and even worked in some easter eggs too. They included the following:**

 **1)When Lana saw the walls 'bleeding', that was a reference to The Amityville Horror**

 **2) Officer Grimes is named after Rick Grimes from The Walking Dead**

 **3) The bullies Butch and Woim are from the Loudest Yard episode, but their names I took from the bullies from The Little Rascals.**

 **4) The scene with the crows was inspired by my favorite scene from the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds**

 **5) At the end, there is a reference to Denzel Crocker from the Fairly Odd Parents. I actually wanted to make this a crossover between that show and Loud House, but wasn't able to get it to work and scrapped the idea early on. But I wanted to keep that bit in there just because I liked the idea too much to fully drop it.**

 **Again I hope that the story was an enjoyable read and that anyone who likes Lucy isn't gonna be too sore at me for making her so happy and bubbly throughout the story. I am posting this on Friday the 13th after all, so maybe I might be pressing my luck.**


End file.
